Bencb has riled his fellow players with comments about women in poker. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

Professional poker player Bencb, real name Benjamin Rolle, has angered a lot of people on social media with comments about women players.

His fellow pro Blaisse Bourgeois shared the initial Instagram story to his X account on Saturday. In it, Bencb answered the question: “Why do you think men have an advantage over women?” His answer left many women and men poker players dumbfounded:

Oh ffs @bencb789

Maybe bc dudes have been playing for a lot longer, it's not normalized in female circles, and there are a lot more barriers to entry.

Not to mention the constant harassment women often face in live poker, which drives them away.

But "man brain better" sure ‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/lIKu26c41e

— Blaise Bourgeois (@BlaiseBourgeois) June 22, 2024

Many of those reactions can be found in the comments of Bourgeois’ post. Kat Arnsby, another pro player, asked: “Who hurt you BenCB? Was it ‘mother’?” Meanwhile, Globetrotting Poker Founder Maureen B said she was hoping the image was photoshopped, and another said it was “embarrassing” for Rolle.

Bencb made clear that it wasn’t a photoshop when he doubled down on his statements on X. He published a lengthy post on Sunday in which he explained his reasoning in finer detail, claiming that he is “not buying into this 2024 woke agenda that we are the same:”

I really don't care. I can take the heat. I will share my opinion even if it upsets people because they cannot handle reality.

I know very well what is going on here. Someone sees a controversial topic and takes the opportunity to farm engagement with zero logic, twisting things… https://t.co/1ApIIXK2BB

— bencb (@bencb789) June 23, 2024

While Rolle has received his fair share of criticism for the posts, he also had some fighting his corner. Charlie Carrel, another pro poker player and friend of Bencb, posted a video to X in which he argued that he didn’t deserve such negative comments for simply sharing his opinion. Despite disagreeing with Rolle on a number of points, Carrel claimed that it is a “conversation worth having:”

It's time for a tough one with poker Twitter.

Featuring @bencb789's perspective on men and women in poker. pic.twitter.com/jGc8Za81aC

— Charlie Carrel (@Charlie_Carrel) June 24, 2024